Director, Operational Excellence

ImageFIRST Healthcare Laundry Specialists•Lancaster, PA

About The Position

ImageFIRST is seeking a strategic, hands-on Director, Operational Excellence to lead enterprise-wide engineering initiatives, capital project planning, and operational improvement efforts across its national network of healthcare laundry facilities. The newly created leadership role partners with Operations and the Senior Leadership Team to advance long-term asset strategy, capital investment planning, engineering support, and operational sustainability. The position will help establish processes to standardize engineering practices and strengthen operational performance. It is based on the East Coast, with the Northeast preferred, and requires approximately 50% travel. The Director leads capital planning and strategic investments, including identifying and prioritizing capital expenditure opportunities, developing financial justifications and ROI analyses, and presenting recommendations to senior leadership. The role leads engineering projects from concept through implementation, providing technical direction for facility upgrades, equipment installations, automation, and operational improvements. It also supports plant operations across the network by assisting leaders with technical challenges, equipment, and processes. The Director leads cross-functional initiatives to improve efficiency, standardization, sustainability, and long-term operational performance. The role champions safety, ensures projects and installations meet applicable safety and regulatory requirements, and partners with Environmental Health & Safety leadership to reduce operational risk.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
10+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, industrial operations, engineering, or capital project management.
Experience leading multi-site engineering or operational initiatives.
Proven experience managing capital projects and developing ROI-driven business cases.
Strong knowledge of asset management, equipment lifecycle planning, and reliability.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence stakeholders at all organizational levels.
Strong financial acumen and experience presenting recommendations to executive leadership.
Ability to travel approximately 50%.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting multiple manufacturing or industrial facilities.
Plant management or operations leadership experience.
Lean Manufacturing, TPM, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement experience.
Military leadership experience, particularly for candidates who transitioned into manufacturing, engineering, or operations leadership roles.
Experience within healthcare services, industrial laundry, textiles, food manufacturing, consumer products, or other asset-intensive industries.

Responsibilities

Identify, prioritize, and develop capital expenditure opportunities across the network.
Build financial justifications, ROI analyses, and business cases for capital investments.
Present capital recommendations and project proposals to the Senior Leadership Team.
Partner with Finance and Operations to align capital investments with business strategy and growth objectives.
Lead enterprise engineering projects from concept through implementation.
Provide technical leadership for facility upgrades, equipment installations, automation initiatives, and operational improvements.
Ensure projects are completed safely, on schedule, within budget, and with measurable business impact.
Serve as a technical resource for manufacturing and plant leadership across the ImageFIRST network.
Provide engineering guidance and problem-solving support to facilities needing operational or technical assistance.
Partner with General Managers and Operations Leaders to resolve complex equipment and process challenges.
Lead cross-functional operational improvement initiatives supporting network stabilization, sustainability, and long-term performance.
Partner with Operations Leadership to identify opportunities for efficiency, standardization, and continuous improvement.
Serve as a resource for high-impact operational projects across the business.
Champion a culture of safety across engineering and operational initiatives.
Ensure engineering projects and equipment installations meet applicable safety standards and regulatory requirements.
Partner with Environmental Health & Safety leadership to proactively reduce operational risk.